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Emerald > Down Town > Reviews
Emerald - Down Town

Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't - 72%

Jophelerx, September 12th, 2012

Dutch traditional metal of the early-to-mid '80s was a pretty interesting movement. There was a lot of talent to come out of it - probably more than from any other scene of the time other than the U.S. or UK - and there seemed to be a trend of a darker, edgier style with a strange, often rough vocalist; take for example, Edgar Lois of Angus, Jurjen Tichelaar of Vortex, or Emerald's own Bert Kivits; all had unique styles, but all tended to sound a bit amateur - usually in a good way. While Kivits isn't quite as good as Lois or Tichelaar, he's definitely a quality vocalist in his own right, although his delivery is clearly amateur and he can be a bit grating at times. Thankfully, the music often makes up for it; this is one of the handful of bands who would leave a lasting mark on the Dutch (and even international) scene, despite some significant flaws.

What's interesting is that Emerald originally started out under the name Warrior way back in 1975 - probably the first Dutch heavy metal band, in fact. They released a demo the following year that contains rough versions of two songs that made it to their full-length, as well as one extra. That's right, folks - two of the songs here were originally released in 1976 - although I doubt they're quite as heavy as they are here, as it's impossible to discern any significant difference between these two songs and the rest of the album. Although I haven't actually heard the demo, more likely it's closer to hard rock than heavy metal, given the date.

At any rate, regardless of whether they were particularly groundbreaking, Emerald definitely understood songwriting; being 1985, they were a little late to the traditional metal party, so they had a chance to hear some of what was right with the scene and what was wrong with it, then extrapolate. The album has a more mature atmosphere than most early heavy metal albums, with a dark, occult, and occasionally epic feel to it. However, it's not really very Sabbathian in construction; it's more like they took some pointers from Judas Priest, possibly Mercyful Fate, and added their own flourishes to create a unique atmosphere - although that's not true of the entire album. Some songs, such as "Hell Racer" and "Johnny's on the Run" are a bit more pedestrian, not really adding anything original to the mix.

The thing that really separates them from the pack, though, is Kivits. His delivery stays consistently in the sonisphere, and he sounds similar to Warrel Dane in Sanctuary, or perhaps Rob Halford at his shriekiest. Luckily, his shrieks are good, and usually do a pretty good job of complementing the guitars; the problem is that he's completely static. He always stays in his upper range and he never really changes his tone or intensity at all. If he had a little more control of his voice, the album would undoubtedly profit, but as it stands, he's pretty good, and he rarely detracts from the album. In fact, he's placed pretty well in the darker, slower songs like "Down Town", "Shadows of Almighty", and "Witch" - it's the more traditional numbers where he sounds a bit out of place, and those generally aren't as good anyway.

Basically, the album can be divided into four categories - the aforementioned darker numbers, the more traditional rockers, those with a more epic tinge, and a ballad. The first category is the best, although the epic numbers are quite good, too - namely, "D-Day" and "iron on Iron". The former reminds me a lot of Enchanter's "Tomb of the Unknown Soldier", although that probably doesn't mean much to most of you - what you need to know is that it's a progressive, rocking epic, although it's not quite as good as the analogous Enchanter song. "Iron on Iron" is even better, with a solid main riff and a soaring chorus that works well in spite of, rather than because of, Kivits. The traditional rockers aren't as good as the first two groups, but they're not completely without merit; "Hell Racer" at least is quite good Priest-ish heavy/speed. "Angels of the Red Light" is pretty decent, although too short to really get going. "Johnny's on the Run" and "Sirens" are, unfortunately, not as good, with bland riffs and boring vocal lines, which bring Kivits to be actively annoying at times. The album's single ballad, "Suicide" unfortunately isn't good either, as Kivits proves himself to fail miserably at approaching tenderness or sorrow in a meaningful way.

However, when the album rocks, it rocks hard, and the three stinkers aren't enough to ruin my enjoyment of it; while certainly not top-tier, the album is far from forgettable, joining Angus, Vault, Valkyrie and Dark Wizard as quality musicians and songwriters of the '80s Dutch scene.

Just listen to yourself - 65%

autothrall, August 1st, 2010

Many emerging metal artists in the 80s would take a page out of the Judas Priest handbook and attempt to run with it, outdoing the originals at their own game, and the short-lived Dutch band Emerald were certainly among them, especially within the vocal department. Bert Kivits was a shrieker, perhaps even more of a pure shrieker than Rob Halford, but the way he phrases the lyrics and hits key notes of elevation reminds me so much of the Priest frontman, only taken to a logical (and even silly) extreme. You can hear a little Riot too, maybe some non-Priest NWOBHM like Angel Witch, but it always comes back to the source.

This is most evident in the opening track to Emerald's sole full length output, Down Town (later titled Iron on Iron through the 1999 Iron Glory Records re-issue. "Johnny's On the Run" might as well be titled "Exciter's On the Run", because the pace, higher vocal swells and switch to the chorus subliminally conjure up that legendary number. This doesn't mean I don't enjoy it anyway, because you could probably write 100 or so worthwhile variants to the same thing and it'd still have my fist banging and neck in lockstep. Allard Ekkel's got a good, fun tone to his playing that feels rich beyond the decades, and though Kivits' vocals can somewhat test the nerves with all their nasal whining qualities, they at least fit the music. "Down Town" hits a little harder, with far better vocals that sound like Geddy Lee and Tony Moore (80s Riot) in a tongue wrestling match, while the riffs rollick and a dirty pace and tasty lead licks cycle on through.

"Angels of the Red Light", which I assume is a tribute to Emerald's sauciest national monument, features a pumping bass line and some thick, choppy guitars whilst Kivits shrieks about the pleasures of the flesh. "Suicide" represents a moody but forgettable ballad that's come a decade late, but the band storm off some Maiden-like trotting energy and sinister grooves in "D-Day" and melodic near-speed metal in "Hell Racer". "Witch" features a few of the catchiest guitar licks on the record, but you have to deal with a surplus of screaming that does not necessarily do the honest groove of the guitar much of a service. "Shadows of Almighty" and the album's second 'title track' "Iron on Iron" fetch us back to sanity, with Kivits restraining himself slightly, enabling them to get their points across without the listener laughing or shaking his head in shame.

The vocals for Down Town can certainly hinder one's appreciation for the music, but when they do knock it down a notch they mix in far more, and the album becomes very enjoyable. In fact, almost all the riffs are the sort that would appeal to a fan of NWOBHM bands like Samson, Angel Witch, Judas Priest and their ilk, and had this Dutch frontman practiced a little restraint, Emerald might have truly capitalized on the still-going movement. I really like the title track and a few others, but inevitably I too fell pray to the hurdle of Kivits' enthusiasm, breaking my knee in the process and having to quit the track team for the next few seasons. The band have reformed, so perhaps they can remedy my bruises yet.

-autothrall
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